President says leaders failed Kenyans;must make amends to achieve peace

Kakamega County woman representative Elsie Muhanda has said the County will defend the handshake between President Kenyatta and the Building Bridges Initiative

President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged leaders to work together to establish peace and unity in the country after last year’s heated election period. In his state of the nation address, President Kenyatta said leaders failed the nation last year when political temperatures were high, and it’s time to make amends, “I want to be clear here; never again should a Kenyan life be lost for politic’s sake, never gain should Kenyans’ property be destroyed on account of politics but that will not happen on its own,” he said, “All of us, and in particlur leaders here, will have to admit that last year we failed in our duty to preserve the unity of this country and we must make amends.”

He urged leaders to spend the coming days and weeks mending the broken bonds, “Let us apologize for our words and for the anger and malice that Kenyans heard,” he said. He revealed that he wasn’t the only leader who felt the need for a restoration of peace and unity, “The right honorable Raila Odinga did so too, so let me praise the statesmanship he showed when he and I publicly committed to reconciliation,” said the President, “When he and I met earlier in the year we agreed to work together to strengthen the unity of the country.”

Moreover, he urged elected leaders to maintain high levels of integrity in their service to Kenyans. The President said ill-gotten public assets valued at about Kshs 500 million were recovered and civil proceedings were instituted for the recovery of other assets valued at more than Kshs 6 billion, “Those days when you could enjoy public goods without fear that action may be taken against you, are gone,” he said.

He said they have continued to digitize key services to seal loopholes used for fraud, “I expect the new officials now in office in prosecutions and investigations to bring cases against the most powerful and privileged, to show Kenyans that no one is above the law,” he said “I urge the judiciary to do its part to ensure that orders are not frivolously used by the wealthy and corrupt individuals to avoid justice.”

Speaking about the Big Four Agenda, President Kenyatta said he came up with the plan after consultations with Kenyans and the pertinent issues were clearly prioritized, “Kenyans want their families kept from catastrophic bills for medical care, they want skilled jobs, especially in manufacturing, they want to be food secure, and they want dignified affordable homes. The Big Four serves each of these,” he said.